Undeniably one of the most controversial figures of the past half-century, Norman Mailer has also been one of the most influential. Twice a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, once a candidate for mayor of New York City, & the author of thirty-one books, he has both made the news & commented on it with an originality that has permanently altered America's literary landscape. From the peace rallies of the sixties that lead to The Armies of the Night, to the coverage of the "sex war" in The Prisoner of Sex, to the study of violence & punishment in The Executioner's Song, Mailer has observed our culture with unmatched insight - & shaped it as well. The author had unprecedented access to Mailer's friends, relations, & antagonists. With photographs & correspondence never before published, her biography fills in the familiar outline of his colorful personal life - the wives & mistresses, the brawls & arrest - & charts Mailer's brilliant successes & notorious failures. The author comes to her subject uniquely sensitive to Mailer's best & worst sides. Her account is the most clearheaded & balanced evaluation to date. As splendidly told by the author, Mailer's story is, for good or ill, the story of our times.